Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration took a significant step toward building a pair of water tunnels through the Delta on Thursday, unveiling the fine print on a redesign that state officials say would reduce impacts on the landscape, improve conditions for endangered fish and enhance water supplies for millions of Southern Californians.

The state Department of Water Resources released hundreds of pages of documents, known as an environmental impact statement, spelling out details of changes that have been previewed by the governor in recent months.

The environmental documents released by DWR didn’t appear to change anyone’s mind. Opponents continued to dismiss the effort as a Southern California “water grab” that would worsen, not improve, the Delta’s damaged ecosystem. Proponents said the project is desperately needed to fix California’s man-made water-delivery network.

Either way, release of the documents marks a milestone in the $15 billion project, which has been in the works since 2006. The statement, the product of a lengthy study required by law, provides the most detailed blueprint yet.

“It’s a big deal,” said Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of the agencies pushing for the tunnels.

But completion of the documents hardly guarantees the controversial tunnels will get built. Federal and state environmental agencies still must sign off, and opponents could file lawsuits to block construction. While the plan doesn’t need the Legislature’s approval, political opposition from Northern California could interfere. Some of the cities and farm districts paying for the system have hesitations about steep costs.

The tunnels would have a dual mission: to help stabilize the environmentally fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and improve delivery to customers of the State Water Project and the federal government’s Central Valley Project.

“There is an urgent need to improve the conditions for threatened and endangered fish species within the Delta,” the environmental statement said. “Improvements to the conveyance system are needed to respond to increased demands upon and risks to water supply reliability, water quality, and the aquatic ecosystem.”

Known formally as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, the project calls for construction of two 30-mile-long tunnels that would draw water from the Sacramento River and deliver it to the pumps and government-operated canals near Tracy. From there, the water would be pumped, as it has for decades, to 25 million Southern Californians and 3 million acres of farmland.
Brown has made the project a centerpiece of his final term, going so far as to tell critics to “shut up” until they study it further.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article26872906.html

Official documents are here:
http://baydeltaconservationplan.com/2015PublicReview/PublicReviewRDEIRSDEIS/PublicReviewRDEIRSDEIS_508.aspx